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Gas-phase hydroxylamine (NH$_2$OH) has recently been detected within dense clouds in the interstellar medium. However, it is also likely present within interstellar ices, as well as on the icy surfaces of outer Solar System bodies, where it may react to form more complex prebiotic molecules such as amino acids. In this work, we aimed to provide IR spectra of NH$_2$OH in astrophysical ice analogues that will help in the search for this molecule in various astrophysical environments. Furthermore, we aimed to provide quantitative information on the stability of NH$_2$OH upon exposure to ionizing radiation analogous to cosmic rays, as well as on the ensuing chemistry and potential formation of complex prebiotic molecules. Ices composed of NH$_2$OH, H$_2$O, and CO were prepared by vapor deposition and IR spectra were acquired between $4000-500$~cm$^{-1}$ ($2.5-20 \mu$m) prior and during irradiation using 15 keV protons. In interstellar ice analogues, the most prominent IR absorption band of NH$_2$OH is that at about 1188~cm$^{-1}$, which may be a good candidate to use in searches of this species in icy space environments. Calculated effective destruction cross-sections and G-values for the NH$_2$OH-rich ices studied show that NH$_2$OH is rapidly destroyed upon exposure to ionizing radiation (more rapidly than a number of previously studied organic molecules), and that this destruction is slightly enhanced when it is mixed with other icy species. The irradiation of a NH$_2$OH:H$_2$O:CO ternary ice mixture leads to a rich chemistry that includes the formation of simple inorganic molecules such as NH$_3$, CO$_2$, OCN$^-$, and H$_2$O$_2$, as well as ammonium salts and, possibly, complex organic molecules relevant to life such as formamide, formic acid, urea, and glycine., Comment: Accepted for publication in A&A

The radiation chemistry and physics of solid N2O have been increasingly studied due to its potential presence on the surfaces of cold, outer Solar System bodies. However, to date, no study has investigated systematically the influence of temperature on this chemistry and physics. In this present study, crystalline N2O ices were irradiated using 2 keV electrons at five different temperatures in the 20-60 K range and the radiolytic dissociation of the molecular solid (as well as the radiolytic formation of seven product molecules) was quantified through the G-value. Our results indicate that temperature does indeed play a role in the radiolytic destruction of crystalline N2O, with higher temperatures being associated with higher destruction G-values. The formation G-values of NO, NO2, N2O2, N2O3, N2O4, N2O5, and O3 were also noted to vary with temperature, with each product molecule exhibiting a distinct trend. The applications of our experimental results to further understanding solid-phase radiation chemistry in the outer Solar System are discussed., Comment: Submitted for publication in Low Temperature Physics

The detection of various molecular species, including complex organic molecules relevant to biochemical and geochemical processes, in astronomical settings such as the interstellar medium or the outer Solar System has led to the increased need for a better understanding of the chemistry occurring in these cold regions of space. In this context, the chemistry of ices prepared and processed at cryogenic temperatures has proven to be of particular interest due to the fact that many interstellar molecules are believed to originate within the icy mantles adsorbed on nano- and micro-scale dust particles. The chemistry leading to the formation of such molecules may be initiated by ionising radiation in the form of galactic cosmic rays or stellar winds, and thus there has been an increased interest in commissioning experimental set-ups capable of simulating and better characterising this solid-phase radiation astrochemistry. In this article, we describe a new facility called AQUILA (Atomki-Queen's University Ice Laboratory for Astrochemistry) which has been purposefully designed to study the chemical evolution of ices analogous to those that may be found in the dense interstellar medium or the outer Solar System as a result of their exposure to keV ion beams. The results of some ion irradiation studies of CH3OH ice at 20 K are discussed to exemplify the experimental capabilities of the AQUILA as well as to highlight its complementary nature to another laboratory astrochemistry set-up at our institute., Comment: Published in Review of Scientific Instruments

The $\Lambda$ Cold Dark Matter ($\Lambda$CDM) cosmological model has been highly successful in predicting cosmic structure and evolution, yet recent precision measurements have highlighted discrepancies, especially in the Hubble constant inferred from local and early-Universe data. Gamma-ray bursts (GRBs) present a promising alternative for cosmological measurements, capable of reaching higher redshifts than traditional distance indicators. This work leverages GRBs to refine cosmological parameters independently of the $\Lambda$CDM framework. Using the Platinum compilation of long GRBs, we calibrate the Dainotti relations-empirical correlations among GRB luminosity properties-as standard candles through artificial neural networks (ANNs). We analyze both the 2D and 3D Dainotti calibration relations, leveraging an ANN-driven Markov Chain Monte Carlo approach to minimize scatter in the calibration parameters, thereby achieving a stable Hubble diagram. This ANN-based calibration approach offers advantages over Gaussian processes, avoiding issues such as kernel function dependence and overfitting. Our results emphasize the need for model-independent calibration approaches to address systematic challenges in GRB luminosity variability, ultimately extending the cosmic distance ladder in a robust way. By addressing redshift evolution and reducing systematic uncertainties, GRBs can serve as reliable high-redshift distance indicators, offering critical insights into current cosmological tensions., Comment: 21 pages; 10 figures

Recent advances in recording technology have allowed neuroscientists to monitor activity from thousands of neurons simultaneously. Latent variable models are increasingly valuable for distilling these recordings into compact and interpretable representations. Here we propose a new approach to neural data analysis that leverages advances in conditional generative modeling to enable the unsupervised inference of disentangled behavioral variables from recorded neural activity. Our approach builds on InfoDiffusion, which augments diffusion models with a set of latent variables that capture important factors of variation in the data. We apply our model, called Generating Neural Observations Conditioned on Codes with High Information (GNOCCHI), to time series neural data and test its application to synthetic and biological recordings of neural activity during reaching. In comparison to a VAE-based sequential autoencoder, GNOCCHI learns higher-quality latent spaces that are more clearly structured and more disentangled with respect to key behavioral variables. These properties enable accurate generation of novel samples (unseen behavioral conditions) through simple linear traversal of the latent spaces produced by GNOCCHI. Our work demonstrates the potential of unsupervised, information-based models for the discovery of interpretable latent spaces from neural data, enabling researchers to generate high-quality samples from unseen conditions., Comment: 16 pages, 5 figures

The current standard model of cosmology successfully describes a variety of measurements, but the nature of its main ingredients, dark matter and dark energy, remains unknown. Euclid is a medium-class mission in the Cosmic Vision 2015-2025 programme of the European Space Agency (ESA) that will provide high-resolution optical imaging, as well as near-infrared imaging and spectroscopy, over about 14,000 deg^2 of extragalactic sky. In addition to accurate weak lensing and clustering measurements that probe structure formation over half of the age of the Universe, its primary probes for cosmology, these exquisite data will enable a wide range of science. This paper provides a high-level overview of the mission, summarising the survey characteristics, the various data-processing steps, and data products. We also highlight the main science objectives and expected performance., Comment: Accepted for publication in the A&A special issue`Euclid on Sky'

There have been several works that have studied scalar cosmological perturbations in $f(T)$ teleparallel gravity theories to understand early cosmic times dynamics. In this direction, the perturbations presented have been performed by considering $f(T)$ extensions as an effective fluid-like scheme, where the equation-of-state contains extra terms due to the torsion. In this work, we discuss introducing a non-fluid-like approach as a direct consequence of $f(T)$ extensions, particularly for $f(T)$ power law model scenarios. This approach will be compared using CMB constraints data from Planck 2018 and SDSS catalogs, showing a change in about 17% in $C_{l}$ at $l< 10^{1}$ from the ones reported in the literature as a fluid-like approach, which will bring significant changes in the analysis on cosmological tensions at early cosmic times., Comment: 17 pages, 6 figures. Includes code architecture

This paper concerns $(r,c)$-constant graphs, which are $r$-regular graphs in which the subgraph induced by the open neighbourhood of every vertex has precisely $c$ edges. The family of $(r,c)$-graphs contains vertex-transitive graphs (and in particular Cayley graphs), graphs with constant link (sometimes called locally isomorphic graphs), $(r,b)$-regular graphs, strongly regular graphs, and much more. This family was recently introduced in [arXiv:2312.08777] serving as important tool in constructing flip graphs [arXiv:2312.08777, arXiv:2401.02315]. In this paper we shall mainly deal with the following: i. Existence and non-existence of $(r, c)$-planar graphs. We completely determine the cases of existence and non-existence of such graphs and supply the smallest order in the case when they exist. ii. We consider the existence of $(r, c)$-circulant graphs. We prove that for $c \equiv 2 \ (\mathrm{mod} \ 3)$ no $(r,c)$-circulant graph exists and that for $c \equiv 0, 1 \ (\mathrm{mod} \ 3)$, $c > 0$ and $r \geq 6 + \sqrt{\frac{8c - 5}{3}}$ there exists $(r,c)$-circulant graphs. Moreover for $c = 0$ and $r \geq 1$, $(r, 0)$-circulants exist. iii. We consider the existence and non-existence of small $(r,c)$-constant graphs, supplying a complete table of the smallest order of graphs we found for $0 \leq c \leq \binom{r}{2}$ and $r \leq 6$. We shall also determine all the cases in this range for which $(r,c)$-constant graphs don't exist. We establish a public database of $(r,c)$-constant graphs for varying $r$, $c$ and order., Comment: 17 pages, 8 figures, 3 tables

The strengthening of tensions in the cosmological parameters has led to a reconsideration of fundamental aspects of standard cosmology. The tension in the Hubble constant can also be viewed as a tension between local and early Universe constraints on the absolute magnitude $M_B$ of Type Ia supernova. In this work, we reconsider the possibility of a variation of this parameter in a model-independent way. We employ neural networks to agnostically constrain the value of the absolute magnitude as well as assess the impact and statistical significance of a variation in $M_B$ with redshift from the Pantheon+ compilation, together with a thorough analysis of the neural network architecture. We find an indication for a possible transition redshift at the $z\approx 1$ region., Comment: 13 pages, 9 sets of figures, 2 tables. To appear in JCAP

We give results concerning two problems on the recently introduced flip colourings of graphs, a new class of local v. global phenomena. We prove that for $(b, r)$-flip sequences with $4 \leq b < r < b + 2 \left\lfloor\frac{b+2}{6}\right\rfloor^2$, small constructions of $(b,r)$-flip graphs on $O(b+r)$ vertices are possible. Furthermore, we prove that there exists $k$-flip sequences $(a_1, \dots, a_k)$ where $k > 4$, such that $a_k$ can be arbitrarily large whilst $a_i$ is constant for $1 \leq i < \frac{k}{4}$., Comment: 14 pages, 5 figures. Fixed a number of typos found in the previous version

It is proved that for integers $b, r$ such that $3 \leq b < r \leq \binom{b+1}{2} - 1$, there exists a red/blue edge-colored graph such that the red degree of every vertex is $r$, the blue degree of every vertex is $b$, yet in the closed neighborhood of every vertex there are more blue edges than red edges. The upper bound $r \le \binom{b+1}{2}-1$ is best possible for any $b \ge 3$. We further extend this theorem to more than two colours, and to larger neighbourhoods. A useful result required in some of our proofs, of independent interest, is that for integers $r,t$ such that $0 \leq t \le \frac{r^2}{2} - 5r^{3/2}$, there exists an $r$-regular graph in which each open neighborhood induces precisely $t$ edges. Several explicit constructions are introduced and relationships with constant linked graphs, $(r,b)$-regular graphs and vertex transitive graphs are revealed.

We establish a sharp lower-bound for the number of conjugacy classes $k(A_n)$ in the alternating group $A_n$, for $n \geq 3$. Namely, we show that $k\left(A_n\right) \geq \frac{k\left(A_7\right)}{\log_2\left|A_7\right|} \cdot \log_2\left|A_n\right|$ with equality if, and only if, $n = 7$. The observations leading towards this result were obtained through a genetic algorithm developed to search for groups having certain properties., Comment: 5 pages

Cosmology faces a pressing challenge with the Hubble constant ($H_0$) tension, where the locally measured rate of the Universe's expansion does not align with predictions from the cosmic microwave background (CMB) calibrated with $\Lambda$CDM model. Simultaneously, there is a growing tension involving the weighted amplitude of matter fluctuations, known as $S_{8,0}$ tension. Resolving both tensions within one framework would boost confidence in any one particular model. In this work, we analyse constraints in $f(T)$ gravity, a framework that shows promise in shedding light on cosmic evolution. We thoroughly examine prominent $f(T)$ gravity models using a combination of data sources, including Pantheon+ (SN), cosmic chronometers (CC), baryonic acoustic oscillations (BAO) and redshift space distortion (RSD) data. We use these models to derive a spectrum of $H_0$ and $S_{8,0}$ values, aiming to gauge their ability to provide insights into, and potentially address, the challenges posed by the $H_0$ and $S_{8,0}$ tensions.

Neural networks have shown great promise in providing a data-first approach to exploring new physics. In this work, we use the full implementation of late time cosmological data to reconstruct a number of scalar-tensor cosmological models within the context of neural network systems. In this pipeline, we incorporate covariances in the data in the neural network training algorithm, rather than a likelihood which is the approach taken in Markov chain Monte Carlo analyses. For general subclasses of classic scalar-tensor models, we find stricter bounds on functional models which may help in the understanding of which models are observationally viable.

In this work, we reconstruct the Hubble diagram using various data sets, including correlated ones, in Artificial Neural Networks (ANN). Using ReFANN, that was built for data sets with independent uncertainties, we expand it to include non-Guassian data points, as well as data sets with covariance matrices among others. Furthermore, we compare our results with the existing ones derived from Gaussian processes and we also perform null tests in order to test the validity of the concordance model of cosmology., Comment: 11 pages, 12 sets of figures, Accepted for publication in EPJ C

Extended gravity is widely constrained in different astrophysical and astronomical systems. Since these different systems are based on different scales it is not trivial to get a combined constraint that is based on different phenomenology. Here, for the first time (to the best of our knowledge), we combine constraints for $f(R)$ gravity from late time Cosmology and the orbital motion of the stars around the galactic center. $f(R)$ gravity models give different potentials that are tested directly in the galactic center. The cosmological data set includes the type Ia supernova and baryon acoustic oscillations. For the galactic star center data set we use the published orbital measurements of the S2 star. The constraints on the universal parameter $\beta$ from the combined system give: $\beta_{HS}=0.154 \pm 0.109$ for the Hu-Sawicki model, while $\beta_{St}= 0.309 \pm 0.19 $ for the Starobinsky dark energy model. These results improve on the cosmological results we obtain. The results show that {{\it combined constraint}} from different systems yields a stronger constraint for different theories under consideration. Future measurements from the galactic center and from cosmology will give better constraints on models with $f(R)$ gravity., Comment: 9 pages, 2 figures, final version, version accepted for publication in the Physics of the Dark Universe

$f(T)$ cosmology has shown promise in explaining aspects of cosmic evolution. In this work, we analyze constraints on leading models of $f(T)$ gravity in the context of the recently released Pantheon+ data set, together with comparisons with previous releases. We also consider other late-time data sets including cosmic chronometers and baryonic acoustic oscillation data. Our main result is that we find that the different $f(T)$ models under investigation connect to a variety of Hubble constant, which may help alleviate the cosmic tension on this parameter.

We present a dedicated experimental study of microscopic mechanisms controlling radiolysis and sputtering of astrophysical ices due to their bombardment by cosmic ray ions. Such ions are slowed down due to inelastic collisions with bound electrons, resulting in ionization and excitation of ice molecules. In experiments on CO ice irradiation, we show that the relative contribution of these two mechanisms of energy loss to molecule destruction and sputtering can be probed by selecting ion energies near the peak of the electronic stopping power. We have observed a significant asymmetry, both in the destruction cross section and the sputtering yield, for pairs of ion energies corresponding to same values of the stopping power on either side of the peak. This implies that the stopping power does not solely control these processes, as usually assumed in the literature. Our results suggest that electronic excitations represent a significantly more efficient channel for radiolysis and, possibly, also for sputtering of CO ice. We also show that the charge state of incident ions as well as the rate for CO$^+$ production in the ice have negligible effect on these processes., Comment: Accepted for publication in ApJ

The organic chemistry occurring in interstellar environments may lead to the production of complex molecules that are relevant to the emergence of life. Therefore, in order to understand the origins of life itself, it is necessary to probe the chemistry of carbon-bearing molecules under conditions that simulate interstellar space. Several of these regions, such as dense molecular cores, are exposed to ionizing radiation in the form of galactic cosmic rays, which may act as an important driver of molecular destruction and synthesis. In this paper, we report the results of a comparative and systematic study of the irradiation of CH4:H2O ice mixtures by 1 MeV protons and 2 keV electrons at 20 K.We demonstrate that our irradiations result in the formation of a number of new products, including both simple and complex daughter molecules such as C2H6, C3H8, C2H2, CH3OH, CO, CO2, and probably also H2CO. A comparison of the different irradiation regimes has also revealed that proton irradiation resulted in a greater abundance of radiolytic daughter molecules compared to electron irradiation, despite a lower radiation dose having been administered. These results are important in the context of the radiation astrochemistry occurring within the molecular cores of dense interstellar clouds, as well as on outer Solar System objects., Comment: Published as an open access article in the MDPI journal Atoms

The ubiquity of sulfur ions within the Jovian magnetosphere has led to suggestions that the implantation of these ions into the surface of Europa may lead to the formation of SO2. However, previous studies on the implantation of sulfur ions into H2O ice (the dominant species on the Europan surface) have failed to detect SO2 formation. Other studies concerned with similar implantations into CO2 ice, which is also known to exist on Europa, have offered seemingly conflicting results. In this letter, we describe the results of a study on the implantation of 290 keV S+ ions into condensed CO2 at 20 and 70 K. Our results demonstrate that SO2 is observed after implantation at 20 K, but not at the Europa-relevant temperature of 70 K. We conclude that this process is likely not a reasonable mechanism for SO2 formation on Europa, and that other mechanisms should be explored instead., Comment: Published in Geophysical Research Letters

Laboratory experiments have confirmed that the radiolytic decay rate of astrochemical ice analogues is dependent upon the solid phase of the target ice, with some crystalline molecular ices being more radio-resistant than their amorphous counterparts. The degree of radio-resistance exhibited by crystalline ice phases is dependent upon the nature, strength, and extent of the intermolecular interactions that characterise their solid structure. For example, it has been shown that crystalline CH3OH decays at a significantly slower rate when irradiated by 2 keV electrons at 20 K than does the amorphous phase due to the stabilising effect imparted by the presence of an extensive array of strong hydrogen bonds. These results have important consequences for the astrochemistry of interstellar ices and outer Solar System bodies, as they imply that the chemical products arising from the irradiation of amorphous ices (which may include prebiotic molecules relevant to biology) should be more abundant than those arising from similar irradiations of crystalline phases. In this present study, we have extended our work on this subject by performing comparative energetic electron irradiations of the amorphous and crystalline phases of the sulphur-bearing molecules H2S and SO2 at 20 K. We have found evidence for phase-dependent chemistry in both these species, with the radiation-induced exponential decay of amorphous H2S being more rapid than that of the crystalline phase, similar to the effect that has been previously observed for CH3OH. For SO2, two fluence regimes are apparent: a low-fluence regime in which the crystalline ice exhibits a rapid exponential decay while the amorphous ice possibly resists decay, and a high-fluence regime in which both phases undergo slow exponential-like decays., Comment: Published in Frontiers in Chemistry (open access)

In this work, we explore the possibility of using artificial neural networks to impose constraints on teleparallel gravity and its $f(T)$ extensions. We use the available Hubble parameter observations from cosmic chronometers and baryon acoustic oscillations from different galaxy surveys. We discuss the procedure for training a network model to reconstruct the Hubble diagram. Further, we describe the procedure to obtain $H'(z)$, the first order derivative of $H(z)$, using artificial neural networks which is a novel approach to this method of reconstruction. These analyses are complemented with further studies on the impact of two priors which we put on $H_0$ to assess their impact on the analysis, which are the local measurements by the SH0ES team ($H_0^{\text{R20}} = 73.2 \pm 1.3$ km Mpc$^{-1}$ s$^{-1}$) and the updated TRGB calibration from the Carnegie Supernova Project ($H_0^{\text{TRGB}} = 69.8 \pm 1.9$ km Mpc$^{-1}$ s$^{-1}$), respectively. Additionally, we investigate the validity of the concordance model, through some cosmological null tests with these reconstructed data sets. Finally, we reconstruct the allowed $f(T)$ functions for different combinations of the observational Hubble data sets. Results show that the $\Lambda$CDM model lies comfortably included at the 1$\sigma$ confidence level for all the examined cases., Comment: 19 pages, 11 sets of figures, version accepted in JCAP

The detection of ozone (O3) in the surface ices of Ganymede, Jupiters largest moon, and of the Saturnian moons Rhea and Dione, has motivated several studies on the route of formation of this species. Previous studies have successfully quantified trends in the production of O3 as a result of the irradiation of pure molecular ices using ultraviolet photons and charged particles (i.e., ions and electrons), such as the abundances of O3 formed after irradiation at different temperatures or using different charged particles. In this study, we extend such results by quantifying the abundance of O3 as a result of the 1 keV electron irradiation of a series of 14 stoichiometrically distinct CO2:O2 astrophysical ice analogues at 20 K. By using mid-infrared spectroscopy as our primary analytical tool, we have also been able to perform a spectral analysis of the asymmetric stretching mode of solid O3 and the variation in its observed shape and profile among the investigated ice mixtures. Our results are important in the context of better understanding the surface composition and chemistry of icy outer Solar System objects, and may thus be of use to future interplanetary space missions such as the ESA Jupiter Icy Moons Explorer and the NASA Europa Clipper missions, as well as the recently launched NASA James Webb Space Telescope., Comment: Accepted for publication in Phys. Chem. Chem. Phys

Water (H2O) ice is ubiquitous component of the universe, having been detected in a variety of interstellar and Solar System environments where radiation plays an important role in its physico-chemical transformations. Although the radiation chemistry of H2O astrophysical ice analogues has been well studied, direct and systematic comparisons of different solid phases are scarce and are typically limited to just two phases. In this article, we describe the results of an in-depth study of the 2 keV electron irradiation of amorphous solid water (ASW), restrained amorphous ice (RAI) and the cubic (Ic) and hexagonal (Ih) crystalline phases at 20 K so as to further uncover any potential dependence of the radiation physics and chemistry on the solid phase of the ice. Mid-infrared spectroscopic analysis of the four investigated H2O ice phases revealed that electron irradiation of the RAI, Ic, and Ih phases resulted in their amorphization (with the latter undergoing the process more slowly) while ASW underwent compaction. The abundance of hydrogen peroxide (H2O2) produced as a result of the irradiation was also found to vary between phases, with yields being highest in irradiated ASW. This observation is the cumulative result of several factors including the increased porosity and quantity of lattice defects in ASW, as well as its less extensive hydrogen-bonding network. Our results have astrophysical implications, particularly with regards to H2O-rich icy interstellar and Solar System bodies exposed to both radiation fields and temperature gradients., Comment: Published in the European Physical Journal D: Atomic, Molecular, Optical, and Plasma Physics

We explore the viability of three models in $f(T,B)$ gravity using data from recent surveys based on cosmic chronometers, the Pantheon data set, and baryonic acoustic oscillation data. We also assess the consistency of these models and data set combinations with two important priors on the Hubble constant coming from the SH0ES Team and measurements using the tip of the red giant branch respectively. These give the highest and lowest values of the Hubble constant coming from cosmology independent studies. In general, our analysis does provide a more consistent fit for the late time data being analyzed. However, each model does include an additional model parameter in comparison with the concordance model. We close the analysis with a comparative analysis in which each model, data set and Hubble constant prior combination are cross-analyzed against each other.

Emerging memristor-based array architectures have been effectively employed in non-volatile memories and neuromorphic computing systems due to their density, scalability and capability of storing information. Nonetheless, to demonstrate a practical on-chip memristor-based system, it is essential to have the ability to apply large programming voltage ranges during the characterisation procedures for various memristor technologies. This work presents a 16x16 high voltage memristor characterisation array employing high voltage CMOS circuitry. The proposed system has a maximum programming range of $\pm22V$ to allow on-chip electroforming and I-V sweep. In addition, a Kelvin voltage sensing system is implemented to improve the readout accuracy for low memristance measurements. This work addresses the limitation of conventional CMOS-memristor platforms which can only operate at low voltages, thus limiting the characterisation range and integration options of memristor technologies., Comment: 5 pages. To be published in ISCAS 2022 and made available on IEEEXplore

The memristor, because of its controllability over a wide dynamic range of resistance, has emerged as a promising device for data storage and analog computation. A major challenge is the accurate measurement of memristance over a wide dynamic range. In this paper, a novel read-out circuit with feedback adjustment is proposed to measure and digitise input current in the range between 20nA and 2mA. The magnitude of the input currents is estimated by a 5-stage logarithmic current-to-voltage amplifier which scales a linear analog-to-digital converter. This way the least significant bit tracks the absolute input magnitude. This circuit is applicable to reading single memristor conductance, and is also preferable in analog computing where read-out accuracy is particularly critical. The circuits have been realized in Bipolar-CMOS-DMOS (BCD) Gen2 technology., Comment: 5 pages, To be published in ISCAS 2022 and made available on IEEE Xplore

Mass characterisation of emerging memory devices is an essential step in modelling their behaviour for integration within a standard design flow for existing integrated circuit designers. This work develops a novel characterisation platform for emerging resistive devices with a capacity of up to 1 million devices on-chip. Split into four independent sub-arrays, it contains on-chip column-parallel DACs for fast voltage programming of the DUT. On-chip readout circuits with ADCs are also available for fast read operations covering 5-decades of input current (20nA to 2mA). This allows a device's resistance range to be between 1k$\Omega$ and 10M$\Omega$ with a minimum voltage range of $\pm$1.5V on the device., Comment: 5 pages. To be published in ISCAS 2022 and made available on IEEE Xplore

Laboratory studies of the radiation chemistry occurring in astrophysical ices have demonstrated the dependence of this chemistry on a number of experimental parameters. One experimental parameter which has received significantly less attention is that of the phase of the solid ice under investigation. In this present study, we have performed systematic 2 keV electron irradiations of the amorphous and crystalline phases of pure CH3OH and N2O astrophysical ice analogues. Radiation-induced decay of these ices and the concomitant formation of products were monitored in situ using FT-IR spectroscopy. A direct comparison between the irradiated amorphous and crystalline CH3OH ices revealed a more rapid decay of the former compared to the latter. Interestingly, a significantly lesser difference was observed when comparing the decay rates of the amorphous and crystalline N2O ices. These observations have been rationalised in terms of the strength and extent of the intermolecular forces present in each ice. The strong and extensive hydrogen-bonding network that exists in crystalline CH3OH (but not in the amorphous phase) is suggested to significantly stabilise this phase against radiation-induced decay. Conversely, although alignment of the dipole moment of N2O is anticipated to be more extensive in the crystalline structure, its weak attractive potential does not significantly stabilise the crystalline phase against radiation-induced decay, hence explaining the smaller difference in decay rates between the amorphous and crystalline phases of N2O compared to those of CH3OH. Our results are relevant to the astrochemistry of interstellar ices and icy Solar System objects, which may experience phase changes due to thermally-induced crystallisation or space radiation-induced amorphisation., Comment: Manuscript contains 18 pages, 6 figures, and 2 tables. Published as an advance article in PCCP

The astrochemistry of CO2 ice analogues has been a topic of intensive investigation due to the prevalence of CO2 throughout the interstellar medium and the Solar System, as well as the possibility of it acting as a carbon feedstock for the synthesis of larger, more complex organic molecules. In order to accurately discern the physico-chemical processes in which CO2 plays a role, it is necessary to have laboratory-generated spectra to compare against observational data acquired by ground- and space-based telescopes. A key factor which is known to influence the appearance of such spectra is temperature, especially when the spectra are acquired in the infrared and ultraviolet. In this present study, we describe the results of a systematic investigation looking into: (i) the influence of thermal annealing on the mid-IR and VUV absorption spectra of pure, unirradiated CO2 astrophysical ice analogues prepared at various temperatures, and (ii) the influence of temperature on the chemical products of electron irradiation of similar ices. Our results indicate that both mid-IR and VUV spectra of pure CO2 ices are sensitive to the structural and chemical changes induced by thermal annealing. Furthermore, using mid-IR spectroscopy, we have successfully identified the production of radiolytic daughter molecules as a result of 1 keV electron irradiation and the influence of temperature over this chemistry. Such results are directly applicable to studies on the chemistry of interstellar ices, comets, and icy lunar objects and may also be useful as reference data for forthcoming observational missions., Comment: Published in the 'Journal of Molecular Spectroscopy'. Includes 40 pages, 7 figures, 2 tables, and a graphical abstract

In this work, we test the robustness of the constancy of the Supernova absolute magnitude $M_B$ using Non-parametric Reconstruction Techniques (NRT). We isolate the luminosity distance parameter $d_L(z)$ from the Baryon Acoustic Oscillations (BAO) data set and cancel the expansion part from the observed distance modulus $\mu(z)$. Consequently, the degeneracy between the absolute magnitude and the Hubble constant $H_0$, is replaced by a degeneracy between $M_B$ and the sound horizon at drag epoch $r_d$. When imposing the $r_d$ value, this yields the $M_B(z) = M_B + \delta M_B(z)$ value from NRT. We perform the respective reconstructions using the model independent Artificial Neural Network (ANN) technique and Gaussian processes (GP) regression. For the ANN we infer $M_B = -19.22\pm0.20$, and for the GP we get $M_B = -19.25\pm0.39$ as a mean for the full distribution when using the sound horizon from late time measurements. These estimations provide a $1\,\sigma$ possibility of a nuisance parameter presence $\delta M_B(z)$ at higher redshifts. We also tested different known nuisance models with the Markov Chain Monte Carlo (MCMC) technique which showed a strong preference for the constant model, but it was not possible not single out a best fit nuisance model., Comment: 10 pages; 3 figures; 4 tables; accepted in Physics of the Dark Universe

The prospect of nonparametric reconstructions of cosmological parameters from observational data sets has been a popular topic in the literature for a number of years. This has mainly taken the form of a technique based on Gaussian processes but this approach is exposed to several foundational issues ranging from overfitting to kernel consistency problems. In this work, we explore the possibility of using artificial neural networks (ANN) to reconstruct late-time expansion and large scale structure cosmological parameters. We first show how mock data can be used to design an optimal ANN for both parameters, which we then use with real data to infer their respective redshift profiles. We further consider cosmological null tests with the reconstructed data in order to confirm the validity of the concordance model of cosmology, in which we observe a mild deviation with cosmic growth data., Comment: 28 pages, 9 figures

Memory compilers are necessary tools to boost the design procedure of digital circuits. However, only a few are available to academia. Resistive Random Access Memory (RRAM) is characterised by high density, high speed, non volatility and is a potential candidate of future digital memories. To the best of the authors' knowledge, this paper presents the first open source RRAM compiler for automatic memory generation including its peripheral circuits, verification and timing characterisation. The RRAM compiler is written with Cadence SKILL programming language and is integrated in Cadence environment. The layout verification procedure takes place in Siemens Mentor Calibre tool. The technology used by the compiler is TSMC 180nm. This paper analyses the novel results of a plethora of M x N RRAMs generated by the compiler, up to M = 128, N = 64 and word size B = 16 bits, for clock frequency equal to 12.5 MHz. Finally, the compiler achieves density of up to 0.024 Mb/mm2., Comment: Final Version of NEWCAS 2022. 5 pages

Astroparticle physics is undergoing a profound transformation, due to a series of extraordinary new results, such as the discovery of high-energy cosmic neutrinos with IceCube, the direct detection of gravitational waves with LIGO and Virgo, and many others. This white paper is the result of a collaborative effort that involved hundreds of theoretical astroparticle physicists and cosmologists, under the coordination of the European Consortium for Astroparticle Theory (EuCAPT). Addressed to the whole astroparticle physics community, it explores upcoming theoretical opportunities and challenges for our field of research, with particular emphasis on the possible synergies among different subfields, and the prospects for solving the most fundamental open questions with multi-messenger observations., Comment: White paper of the European Consortium for Astroparticle Theory (EuCAPT). 135 authors, 400 endorsers, 133 pages, 1382 references

The modelling of molecular excitation and dissociation processes relevant to astrochemistry requires the validation of theories by comparison with data generated from laboratory experimentation. The newly commissioned Ice Chamber for Astrophysics-Astrochemistry (ICA) allows for the study of astrophysical ice analogues and their evolution when subjected to energetic processing, thus simulating the processes and alterations interstellar icy grain mantles and icy outer Solar System bodies undergo. ICA is an ultra-high vacuum compatible chamber containing a series of IR-transparent substrates upon which the ice analogues may be deposited at temperatures of down to 20 K. Processing of the ices may be performed in one of three ways: (i) ion impacts with projectiles delivered by a 2 MV Tandetron-type accelerator, (ii) electron irradiation from a gun fitted directly to the chamber, and (iii) thermal processing across a temperature range of 20-300 K. The physico-chemical evolution of the ices is studied in situ using FTIR absorbance spectroscopy and quadrupole mass spectrometry. In this paper, we present an overview of the ICA facility with a focus on characterising the electron beams used for electron impact studies, as well as reporting the preliminary results obtained during electron irradiation and thermal processing of selected ices., Comment: Published in European Physical Journal Part D: Atomic, Molecular, Optical, and Plasma Physics

The Ice Chamber for Astrophysics-Astrochemistry (ICA) is a new laboratory end-station located at the Institute for Nuclear Research (Atomki) in Debrecen, Hungary. The ICA has been specifically designed for the study of the physico-chemical properties of astrophysical ice analogues and their chemical evolution when subjected to ionising radiation and thermal processing. The ICA is an ultra-high vacuum compatible chamber containing a series of IR-transparent substrates mounted in a copper holder connected to a closed-cycle cryostat capable of being cooled down to 20 K, itself mounted on a 360{\deg} rotation stage and a z-linear manipulator. Ices are deposited onto the substrates via background deposition of dosed gases. Ice structure and chemical composition are monitored by means of FTIR absorbance spectroscopy in transmission mode, although use of reflectance mode is possible by using metallic substrates. Pre-prepared ices may be processed in a variety of ways. A 2 MV Tandetron accelerator is capable of delivering a wide variety of high-energy ions into the ICA, which simulates ice processing by cosmic rays, the solar wind, or magnetospheric ions. The ICA is also equipped with an electron gun which may be used for electron impact radiolysis of ices. Thermal processing of both deposited and processed ices may be monitored by means of both FTIR spectroscopy and quadrupole mass spectrometry. In this paper, we provide a detailed description of the ICA set-up, as well as an overview of preliminary results obtained and future plans., Comment: Published in Review of Scientific Instruments

Stellar systems are often formed through the collapse of dense molecular clouds which, in turn, return copious amounts of atomic and molecular material to the interstellar medium. An in-depth understanding of chemical evolution during this cyclic interaction between the stars and the interstellar medium is at the heart of astrochemistry. Systematic chemical composition changes as interstellar clouds evolve from the diffuse stage to dense, quiescent molecular clouds to star-forming regions and proto-planetary disks further enrich the molecular diversity leading to the evolution of ever more complex molecules. In particular, the icy mantles formed on interstellar dust grains and their irradiation are thought to be the origin of many of the observed molecules, including those that are deemed to be prebiotic; that is those molecules necessary for the origin of life. This review will discuss both observational (e.g., ALMA, SOFIA, Herschel) and laboratory investigations using millimeter, submillimeter, and terahertz and far-IR (THz/F-IR) spectroscopies and the role that they play in contributing to our understanding of the formation of prebiotic molecules. Mid-IR spectroscopy has typically been the primary tool used in laboratory studies. However, THz/F-IR spectroscopy offers an additional and complementary approach in that it provides the ability to investigate intermolecular interactions compared to the intramolecular modes available in the mid-IR. THz/F-IR spectroscopy is still somewhat under-utilized, but with the additional capability it brings, its popularity is likely to significantly increase in the near future. This review will discuss the strengths and limitations of such methods, and will also provide some suggestions on future research areas that should be pursued in the coming decade exploiting both space-borne and laboratory facilities., Comment: Submitted for publication in Frontiers in Astronomy and Space Science

We present a detailed analysis of the impact of $H_0$ priors from recent surveys in the literature on the late time cosmology of five $f(T)$ cosmological models using cosmic chronometers, the Pantheon data set, and baryonic acoustic oscillation data. In this work, we use three recently reported values of $H_0$ that have contributed to the recent $H_0$ tension problem. We find that these priors have a strong response in these analyses in terms of all the cosmological parameters. In general, our analyses gives much higher values of $H_0$ when considered against equivalent analyses without priors while, by and large, giving lower values of the matter density parameter. We close with a cross-analysis of each of our model, data set and prior combination choices., Comment: 24 pages, 11 figures

Laboratory experiments play a key role in deciphering the chemistry of the interstellar medium (ISM) and the role that product complex organic molecules (COMs) may play in the origins of life. However, to date, most studies in experimental astrochemistry have made use of reductionist approaches to experimental design in which chemical responses to variations in a single parameter are investigated while all other parameters are held constant. Although such work does afford insight into the chemistry of the ISM, it is likely that several important points, such as the relative importance of an experimental parameter in determining the chemical outcome of a reaction and the interaction between parameters, remain ambiguous. In light of this, we propose adopting a new systems astrochemistry framework for experimental studies which draws on current work performed in the field of prebiotic chemistry, and present the basic tenants of such an approach in this article. This systems approach would focus on the emergent properties of the chemical system by performing the simultaneous variation of multiple experimental parameters and would allow for the effect of each parameter, as well as their interactions, to be quantified. We anticipate that the application of systems science to laboratory astrochemistry, coupled with developments in hyphenated analytical techniques and data analytics, will uncover significant new data hitherto unknown, and will aid in better linking laboratory experiments to observations and modelling work., Comment: 32 pages including 11 figures and 2 tables. To be submitted in Frontiers in Astronomy and Space Science

Teleparallel gravity has significantly increased in popularity in recent decades, bringing attention to Einstein's other theory of gravity. In this Review, we relate this form of geometry to the broader metric-affine approach to forming gravitational theories where we describe a systematic way of constructing consistent teleparallel theories that respect certain physical conditions such as local Lorentz invariance. We first use teleparallel gravity to formulate a teleparallel equivalent of general relativity which is dynamically equivalent to general relativity but which may have different behaviors for other scenarios, such as quantum gravity. After setting this foundation, we describe the plethora of modified teleparallel theories of gravity that have been proposed in the literature. In the second part of the Review, we first survey works in teleparallel astrophysics literature where we focus on the open questions in this regime of physics. We then discuss the cosmological consequences for the various formulations of teleparallel gravity. We do this at background level by exploring works using various approaches ranging from dynamical systems to Noether symmetries, and more. Naturally, we then discuss perturbation theory, firstly by giving a concise approach in which this can be applied in teleparallel gravity theories and then apply it to a number of important theories in the literature. Finally, we examine works in observational and precision cosmology across the plethora of proposal theories. This is done using some of the latest observations and is used to tackle cosmological tensions which may be alleviated in teleparallel cosmology. We also introduce a number of recent works in the application of machine learning to gravity, we do this through deep learning and Gaussian processes, together with discussions about other approaches in the literature., Comment: 391 pages, 55 figures

In this work, we consider four $f(R)$ gravity models -- the Hu-Sawicki, Starobinsky, Exponential and Tsujikawa models -- and use a range of cosmological data, together with Markov Chain Monte Carlo sampling techniques, to constrain the associated model parameters. Our main aim is to compare the results we get when $\Omega_{k,0}$ is treated as a free parameter with their counterparts in a spatially flat scenario. The bounds we obtain for $\Omega_{k,0}$ in the former case are compatible with a flat geometry. It appears, however, that a higher value of the Hubble constant $H_0$ allows for more curvature. Indeed, upon including in our analysis a Gaussian likelihood constructed from the local measurement of $H_0$, we find that the results favor an open universe at a little over $1\sigma$. This is perhaps not statistically significant, but it underlines the important implications of the Hubble tension for the assumptions commonly made about spatial curvature. We note that the late-time deviation of the Hubble parameter from its $\Lambda$CDM equivalent is comparable across all four models, especially in the non-flat case. When $\Omega_{k,0}=0$, the Hu-Sawicki model admits a smaller mean value for $\Omega_{\text{cdm},0}h^2$, which increases the said deviation at redshifts higher than unity. We also study the effect of a change in scale by evaluating the growth rate at two different wavenumbers $k_\dagger$. Any changes are, on the whole, negligible, although a smaller $k_\dagger$ does result in a slightly larger average value for the deviation parameter $b$., Comment: 21 pages, 11 figures, 8 tables

In the context of a Hubble tension problem that is growing in its statistical significance, we reconsider the effectiveness of non-parametric reconstruction techniques which are independent of prescriptive cosmological models. By taking cosmic chronometers, Type Ia Supernovae and baryonic acoustic oscillation data, we compare and contrast two important reconstruction approaches, namely Gaussian processes (GP) and the \textbf{Lo}cally w\textbf{e}ighted \textbf{S}catterplot \textbf{S}moothing together with \textbf{Sim}ulation and \textbf{ex}trapolation method (LOESS-Simex or LS). In the context of these methods, besides not requiring a cosmological model, they also do not require physical parameters in their approach to their reconstruction of data (but they do depend on statistical hyperparameters). We firstly show how both GP and LOESS-Simex can be used to successively reconstruct various data sets to a high level of precision. We then directly compare both approaches in a quantitative manner by considering several factors, such as how well the reconstructions approximate the data sets themselves to how their respective uncertainties evolve. In light of the puzzling Hubble tension, it is important to consider how the uncertain regions evolve over redshift and the methods compare for estimating cosmological parameters at current times. For cosmic chronometers and baryonic acoustic oscillation compiled data sets, we find that GP generically produce smaller variances for the reconstructed data with a minimum value of $\sigma_{\rm GP-min} = 1.1$, while the situation for LS is totally different with a minimum of $\sigma_{\rm LS-min} = 50.8$. Moreover, some of these characteristics can be alleviate at low $z$, where LS presents less underestimation in comparison to GP., Comment: 22 pages, 5 figures, 3 tables. Version accepted in JCAP

The lack of open-source memory compilers in academia typically causes significant delays in research and design implementations. This paper presents an open-source memory compiler that is directly integrated within the Cadence Virtuoso environment using physical verification tools provided by Mentor Graphics (Calibre). It facilitates the entire memory generation process from netlist generation to layout implementation, and physical implementation verification. To the best of our knowledge, this is the first open-source memory compiler that has been developed specifically to automate Resistive Random Access Memory (RRAM) generation. RRAM holds the promise of achieving high speed, high density and non-volatility. A novel RRAM architecture, additionally is proposed, and a number of generated RRAM arrays are evaluated to identify their worst case control line parasitics and worst case settling time across the memristors of their cells. The total capacitance of lines SEL, N and P is 5.83 fF/cell, 3.31 fF/cell and 2.48 fF/cell respectively, while the total calculated resistance for SEL is 1.28 Ohm/cell and 0.14 Ohm/cell for both N and P lines., Comment: 4 pages

In this work, we use a combined approach of Hubble parameter data together with redshift-space-distortion $(f\sigma_8)$ data, which together are used to reconstruct the teleparallel gravity (TG) Lagrangian via Gaussian processes (GP). The adopted Hubble data mainly comes from cosmic chronometers, while for the Type Ia supernovae data we use the latest jointly calibrated Pantheon compilation. Moreover, we consider two main GP covariance functions, namely the squared-exponential and Cauchy kernels in order to show consistency (to within 1$\sigma$ uncertainties). The core results of this work are the numerical reconstructions of the TG Lagrangian from GP reconstructed Hubble and growth data. We take different possible combinations of the datasets and kernels to illustrate any potential differences in this regard. We show that nontrivial cosmology beyond $\Lambda$CDM falls within the uncertainties of the reconstructions from growth data, which therefore indicates no significant departure from the concordance cosmological model., Comment: 31 pages, 10 figures

Sulfur is the tenth most abundant element in the universe and is known to play a significant role in biological systems. Accordingly, in recent years there has been increased interest in the role of sulfur in astrochemical reactions and planetary geology and geochemistry. Among the many avenues of research currently being explored is the laboratory processing of astrophysical ice analogues. Such research involves the synthesis of an ice of specific morphology and chemical composition at temperatures and pressures relevant to a selected astrophysical setting (such as the interstellar medium or the surfaces of icy moons). Subsequent processing of the ice under conditions that simulate the selected astrophysical setting commonly involves radiolysis, photolysis, thermal processing, neutral-neutral fragment chemistry, or any combination of these, and has been the subject of several studies. The in-situ changes in ice morphology and chemistry occurring during such processing has been monitored via spectroscopic or spectrometric techniques. In this paper, we have reviewed the results of laboratory investigations concerned with sulfur chemistry in several astrophysical ice analogues. Specifically, we review (i) the spectroscopy of sulfur-containing astrochemical molecules in the condensed phase, (ii) atom and radical addition reactions, (iii) the thermal processing of sulfur-bearing ices, (iv) photochemical experiments, (v) the non-reactive charged particle radiolysis of sulfur-bearing ices, and (vi) sulfur ion bombardment of and implantation in ice analogues. Potential future studies in the field of solid phase sulfur astrochemistry are also discussed in the context of forthcoming space missions, such as the NASA James Webb Space Telescope and the ESA Jupiter Icy Moons Explorer mission., Comment: Peer-reviewed version accepted for publication in Space Science Reviews

MA plots are used to analyze the genome-wide differences in gene expression between two distinct biological conditions. An MA plot is usually rendered as a static scatter plot. Our interview with 3 experts in genomics showed that we could improve the usability of this plot by adding interactive analytic features. In this work we present the design study of the enhanced MA plot., Comment: Presented at BioVis 2020 Redesign Challenge @ IEEE VIS. http://biovis.net/2020/program_ieee/

The $\lambda$-core vertices of a graph correspond to the non-zero entries of some eigenvector of $\lambda$ for a universal adjacency matrix $\mathbf{U}$ of the graph. We define a partition of the vertex set $V$ based on the $\lambda$-core vertex set and its neighbourhoods at a distance $r$, and give a number of results relating the structure of the graph to this partition. For such partitions, we also define an entropic measure for the information content of a graph, related to every distinct eigenvalue $\lambda$ of $\mathbf{U}$, and discuss its properties and potential applications., Comment: 8 pages, 2 figures. Linear Algebra Appl. (2021)

RRAM technology has experienced explosive growth in the last decade, with multiple device structures being developed for a wide range of applications. However, transitioning the technology from the lab into the marketplace requires the development of an accessible and user-friendly design flow, supported by an industry-grade toolchain. In this work, we demonstrate with examples an end-to-end design flow for RRAM-based electronics, from the introduction of a custom RRAM model into our chosen CAD tool to performing layout-versus-schematic and post-layout checks including the RRAM device. We envisage that this step-by-step guide to introducing RRAM into the standard integrated circuit design flow will be a useful reference document for both device developers who wish to benchmark their technologies and circuit designers who wish to experiment with RRAM-enhanced systems., Comment: This work has been accepted to the IEEE TCAS-I for possible publication