Minimal Theory Research Articles

Leptoquarks and matter unification: Flavor anomalies and the muon g−2

We discuss the minimal theory for quark-lepton unification at the low scale. In this context, the quarks and leptons are unified in the same representations and neutrino masses are generated through the inverse seesaw mechanism. The properties of the leptoquarks predicted in this theory are discussed in detail and we investigate the predictions for the leptonic and semi-leptonic decays of mesons. We study the possibility to explain the current value of $\mathcal{R}_K$ reported by the LHCb collaboration and the value of the muon anomalous magnetic moment reported by the Muon $g-2$ experiment at Fermilab.

Late time physics of holographic quantum chaos

Quantum chaotic systems are often defined via the assertion that their spectral statistics coincides with, or is well approximated by, random matrix theory. In this paper we explain how the universal content of random matrix theory emerges as the consequence of a simple symmetry-breaking principle and its associated Goldstone modes. This allows us to write down an effective-field theory (EFT) description of quantum chaotic systems, which is able to control the level statistics up to an accuracy {O} \left(e^{-S} \right)O(e−S) with SS the entropy. We explain how the EFT description emerges from explicit ensembles, using the example of a matrix model with arbitrary invariant potential, but also when and how it applies to individual quantum systems, without reference to an ensemble. Within AdS/CFT this gives a general framework to express correlations between ``different universes’’ and we explicitly demonstrate the bulk realization of the EFT in minimal string theory where the Goldstone modes are bound states of strings stretching between bulk spectral branes. We discuss the construction of the EFT of quantum chaos also in higher dimensional field theories, as applicable for example for higher-dimensional AdS/CFT dual pairs.

The Position of the Subjectness of the Subject-less Conventional Infinitives

The English conventional infinitive clauses have either overt or covert subjects. Previous analyses mainly used the PRO Theorem and Null-Case Approaches to show the distribution of the subjectness of the subject-less conventional infinitives. However, this paper investigated the position of the subjectness of the subject-less conventional infinitive clauses using the Minimalist Program’s Movement Theory of Control and the External Token Merge. In this qualitative paper, data was extracted from the previous English Ph.D. research studies conducted by English native and non-native speakers, and analysed using successive approximation analytic tools. The results demonstrate that the control and SSR-infinitives are generated in a similar fashion, which is why they share the type of subjectness. The base-generated PRO, which is claimed to be the subjectness of the control infinitives, is further revealed that is derived from movement. Therefore, for uniformity purposes, the subjectness of the control and SSR-infinitives is found to be a trace-copy (t) or a lexical subject positioned at the [spec-IP], [spec-TP], and [spec-vP]. The analysis suggested connectivity between the structure of the subject-less conventional infinitive clause and the position of the subjectness of the subject-less conventional infinitives as the structure of the subject-less conventional infinitives informs the distribution.

Statistical energy minimization theory for systems of drop-carrier particles.

Drop-carrier particles (DCPs) are solid microparticles designed to capture uniform microscale drops of a target solution without using costly microfluidic equipment and techniques. DCPs are useful for automated and high-throughput biological assays and reactions, as well as single-cell analyses. Surface energy minimization provides a theoretical prediction for the volume distribution in pairwise droplet splitting, showing good agreement with macroscale experiments. We develop a probabilistic pairwise interaction model for a system of such DCPs exchanging fluid volume to minimize surface energy. This leads to a theory for the number of pairwise interactions of DCPs needed to reach a uniform volume distribution. Heterogeneous mixtures of DCPs with different sized particles require fewer interactions to reach a minimum energy distribution for the system. We optimize the DCP geometry for minimal required target solution and uniformity in droplet volume.

Strengthening impact integrity in investment decision-making for sustainable development

PurposeThis paper aims to focus on impact integrity in investment decision-making – an under-researched yet important topic – as a means for optimising investor contributions to sustainable development outcomes, including achieving the sustainable development goals (SDGs).Design/methodology/approachThis conceptual paper adopts a two-step approach. First, this paper reviews existing “responsible” investment strategies and products used in practice and highlight their shortcomings in terms of optimising sustainable development outcomes. Second, drawing from the minimal standards theory, this study explores how emerging impact management practices may strengthen impact integrity in investment decision-making and mitigate shortcomings in existing “responsible” investment approaches to increase their contribution to sustainable development outcomes.FindingsCurrent “responsible” investment approaches often do not optimise sustainable development outcomes and may facilitate “impact washing”. The theoretically grounded framework demonstrates standardised impact management practices based on a bounded flexibility approach – adaptable to different contexts within limits and assessed by skilled analysts – along with incorporating shared language and conventions supported by appropriate accountability mechanisms that can be used to mitigate shortcomings in current “responsible” investment approaches. The authors further propose accountability mechanisms to systematically involve stakeholders (including rightsholders) in decisions that impact them with effective grievance and reparation mechanisms. Such an approach, the authors argue will strengthen impact integrity and the capacity of investments to optimise contributions to sustainable development outcomes.Practical implicationsThe findings have implications for the ability of investment markets to optimise their contributions to sustainable development and the SDGs.Social implicationsBy highlighting shortcomings in current “responsible” investment approaches and focussing on strengthening impact integrity in investment decision-making through standardised impact management practices, the findings enhance the capacity of investment markets to contribute positively to sustainable development and the SDGs.Originality/valueDespite its importance, impact integrity in investment decision-making is severely under-researched with little academic attention. This paper fills this void.

Clause Structure and Word Order in Ákè

Ákè is by historical and linguistic facts a dialect of Edo which has not received significant linguistic attention. This neglect informs an inquiry into the in ternal structure and organization of its basic clause. This paper studies data of everyday usage of competent speakers of Ákè and argues that it displays a subject-verb-object order. The study provides a not too elaborate description of the nominal and verbal constructions in Ákè and reduces the description to analysis using the X-bar theory as conceived within the Minimalist Program. It therefore states that nominal phrases can be analysed as a projection of Determiner Phrase (DP) because independent existence is not a requirement for considering an element as the head of a projection. The variable position which the head D occupies in the superficial syntax of Ákè is analysed as the effect of movement for feature checking. In the spirit of the Minimalist Program, this study recognizes the head of the clause as Tense (T), which could be overt or null and predicts that it dominates Negative Phrase (NegP) as Neg is assumed to c-select the Verb Phrase (VP).

3D Yang-Mills glueballs vs closed effective strings

Recent lattice results strongly support the Axionic String Ansatz (ASA) for quantum numbers of glueballs in 3D Yang-Mills theory. The ASA treats glueballs as closed bosonic strings. The corresponding worldsheet theory is a deformation of the minimal Nambu-Goto theory. In order to understand better the ASA strings and as a first step towards a perturbative calculation of the glueball mass splittings we compare the ASA spectrum to the closed effective string theory. Namely, we model glueballs as excitations around the folded rotating rod solution with a large angular momentum J. The resulting spectrum agrees with the ASA in the regime of validity of the effective theory, i.e., in the vicinity of the leading Regge trajectory. In particular, closed effective string theory correctly predicts that only glueballs of even spin J show up at the leading Regge trajectory. Interestingly though, the closed effective string theory overestimates the number of glueball states far above the leading Regge trajectory.

Argument and Adjunct Purpose Constructions in Hill Mari

In this study the author suggests a new systemic model of purpose constructions in Hill Mari - a Finno-Ugric language, spoken by approximately 30 000 people living mostly in Mari El Republic, located in Volga river basin. (Here and thereafter (if the opposite is not stated overtly) the term “purpose clause” or “purpose construction” is used in its traditional wide sense and should not be confused with “Purpose clauses” opposed to “Rationale clauses” in R. A. Faraci’s terms (1974).) There are two core strategies of marking the embedded predicate which can be used in contexts denoting purpose in Hill Mari. Firstly, an imperative form can be used. This option is reserved for different-subjects contexts. Secondly, an embedded predicate can be marked as infinitive. Notably, such a clause allows for its subject to be expressed overtly, in which case it is marked by Dative. Typically, though, the subject of an infinitival purposive clause is omitted and obligatorily controlled by a certain argument of a matrix clause. Finally, there are two peripheral constructions - those of perfect tense and non-past tense. Both are quite marginal and not universally accepted. This study also discusses the interaction between aforementioned strategies and purpose complementizers (conjunctions) š (borrowed from Russian) and. However, what constitutes the main theoretical concern of this study are certain peculiar traits of the subordinate null subject’s behavior. The paper adopts a standard generative approach (within Chomsky’s minimalist program) and argues that Hill Mari purpose constructions can be divided into two groups, namely, argument ones, occupying the position of VP complement, and adjunct ones, which are attached as VP adjuncts. This structural distinction can account for the indirect object control, which is possible in all cases, and direct object control, which is only allowed in case of certain matrix predicates. Such an analysis links Hill Mari purpose construction’s distinction to the Purpose/Rationale clauses distinction proposed for English in R. A. Faraci (1974). Finally, Hill Mari infinitival purpose clauses’ specific traits can potentially provide certain insights for the general theory of ditransitive constructions. Thus, among the main current approaches only that developed by L. Pylkkänen (2008) can account for the facts observed in Hill Mari. L. Pylkkänen argues that in some languages double objects constructions can be derived via “high” applicative head, taking VP as its complement and indirect object as its specifier. Our study argues that this is also likely to be the case in Hill Mari.

AN EFFICIENT IDENTIFICATION OF RED BLOOD CELL EQUILIBRIUM SHAPE USING NEURAL NETWORKS

This work of applied mathematics with interfaces in bio-physics focuses on the shape identification and numerical modelisation of a single red blood cell shape. The purpose of this work is to provide a quantitative method for interpreting experimental observations of the red blood cell shape under microscopy. In this paper we give a new formulation based on classical theory of geometric shape minimization which assumes that the curvature energy with additional constraints controls the shape of the red blood cell. To minimize this energy under volume and area constraints, we propose a new hybrid algorithm which combines Particle Swarm Optimization (PSO), Gravitational Search (GSA) and Neural Network Algorithm (NNA). The results obtained using this new algorithm agree well with the experimental results given by Evans et al. (8) especially for sphered and biconcave shapes.

Building models of strongly minimal theories

What information does one need to know in order to build the models of a strongly minimal theory? To answer this question, we first formalize it in two ways. Note that if a theory T has a computable model, then T∩∃n is uniformly Σn0. We call such theories Solovay theories. A degree is strongly minimal computing if it computes a copy of every countable model of every strongly minimal Solovay theory. A second notion, introduced by Lempp in the mid-1990's, is that of a strongly minimal relatively computing degree. A degree d is strongly minimal relatively computing if whenever T is a strongly minimal theory with one computable model, d computes a copy of every countable model of T. We characterize both classes of degrees as exactly the degrees which are high over0″, i.e., d≥0″ and d′≥0(4).

Nonlocal Dielectric Response of Water in Nanoconfinement.

Recent experiments reporting a very low dielectric permittivity for nanoconfined water have renewed the interest in the structure and dielectric properties of water in narrow gaps. Here, we describe such systems with a minimal Landau-Ginzburg field theory composed of a nonlocal bulk-determined term and a local water-surface interaction term. We show how the interplay between the boundary conditions and intrinsic bulk correlations encodes the dielectric properties of confined water. Our theoretical analysis is supported by molecular dynamics simulations and comparison with the experimental data.

Effort Minimization Theory in the Data Analytics Era

ABSTRACT While there is an explosion in data analytic activity, certain behavioral aspects of a data analyst’s modeling efforts are not well understood. Through the lens of effort minimization theory, this research considers how data analysts make decisions to engage with more data as a part of their modeling process, and the effects that modeling tools have on these decisions. Previous research found that decision aids have no effect on reducing effort in terms of the amount of information referenced and processed. However, our results indicate that there are indeed significant differences in the amount of data analyzed with less effort-intensive modeling methods, and increasing amounts of available data. These results offer new implications for effort minimization research and organizations engaged in data analytics.

Application of the AP4M Model in Reading the Understanding of Genre Narrative Text Through E-Learning

This research was motivated by observations and interviews of learning tools for reading skills lectures in the Indonesian Language and Literature study program, Bung Hatta University. It is known that reading courses are generally given in the form of minimal reading theory and practice. As a result, students have difficulty understanding the reading text because students do not know the genre of the text being read. To solve this problem, one of the alternatives proposed is to apply the AP4M Model in Reading Comprehension of Narrative Text Genres through E-Learning. The research objective was to describe students' reading comprehension skills using the AP4M model. This research uses qualitative and quantitative methods. The research subjects were students of the Indonesian Language and Literature Study Program, Bung Hatta University, Padang, class 2019/2020. The results showed that the students' ability to determine themes and messages was 8.90; determine the type of narrative text and its description 8.90; determine the structure of the narrative text genre 9.80; determine the character of the character 7.8. The results of the research on the application of the AP4M Model in reading comprehension of the narrative text genre of students were 8.6 with the very good category.

Deriving adequate sample sizes for ANN-based modelling of real estate valuation tasks by complexity analysis

Property valuation in areas with few transactions on basis of a linear regression fails due to a not sufficient number of purchasing cases. One approach which is enhancing the available data set is to evaluate these purchasing cases together with a neighbouring submarket. However, it leads to non-linearities. Consequently, non-linear models for a cross-submarket real estate valuation are required to obtain reasonable results. We focus in this contribution on non-linear modelling on basis of artificial neural networks (ANN). A prerequisite for these procedures is an adequate sample size. We present a new approach based on the aggregation of submarkets additional to the markets with few transactions at the expense of increasing complexity of the model required. The cross-submarket ANN estimation aims to reach accuracies comparable to local property valuation procedures in a first step and in further consequence to enable a reasonable estimation in areas with few transactions. We introduce an extended Kalman filter (EKF) estimation procedure for the ANN parameters and compare it to the standard optimisation procedure Levenberg Marquardt (LM) as well as to the multiple linear regression. Thus, German spatial and functional submarkets are aggregated. For the spatially aggregated data set, the ANN estimation leads to improved results. The ANN estimation of the functionally aggregated data appears deceptively simple due to too small samples not representing the sampling density. The question arises, what are adequate sample sizes regarding the complexity of the unknown relationship. We purpose a model complexity analysis procedure based on resampling and the structural risk minimisation theory and derive a minimum sample size for the spatially aggregated data. Only for the EKF computations, this minimum sample size is reached due to less variance of the ANN estimations. Generally, the EKF computation leads to a better ANN performance in contrast to LM. Finally, the spatial cross-submarket ANN estimation reaches accuracies of local property valuation procedures.

Quantum phase space description of a cosmological minimal massive bigravity model

Bimetric gravity theories describes gravitational interactions in the presence of an extra spin-2 field. The Hassan-Rosen (HR) nonlinear massive minimal bigravity theory is a ghost-free bimetric theory formulated with respect a flat, dynamical reference metric. In this work the deformation quantization formalism is applied to a HR cosmological model in the minisuperspace. The quantization procedure is performed explicitly for quantum cosmology in the minisuperspace. The Friedmann-Lema\^itre-Robertson-Walker (FLRW) model with flat metrics is worked out and the computation of the Wigner functions for theHartle-Hawking, Vilenkin and Linde wavefunctions are done numerically and, in the Hartle-Hawking case, also analytically. From the stability analysis in the quantum minisuper phase space it is found an interpretation of the mass of graviton as an emergent cosmological constant and as a measure of the deviation of classical behavior of the Wigner functions. Also, from the Hartle-Hawking case, an interesting relation between the curvature and the mass of graviton in a cusp catastrophe surface is discussed

Minimal Theory of Causation and Causal Distinctions

The Minimal Theory of Causation, presented in Graßhoff and May, 2001, aspires to be a version of a regularity analysis of causation able to correctly predict our causal intuitions. In my article, I will argue that it is unsuccessful in this respect. The second aim of the paper will be to defend Hitchcock’s proposal concerning divisions of causal relations (presented in Hitchcock, 2001) against criticism made, in Jakob, 2006 on the basis of the Minimal Theory of Causation.

Causation in Polish anticausatives

The aims of this paper are twofold. The first objective is to check whether Polish anticausatives are causative in their lexical semantic or syntactic representation. Four diagnostics supporting the presence of a cause in anticausatives are examined against the Polish data, including cause PPs, modification by by itself, the interpretation of negation, and the occurrence of dative causes. Evidence is provided that none of these diagnostics proves the presence of a cause in syntax or semantics of Polish anticausatives. The causative meaning of anticausatives comes from the complex event structure built in the syntax, but interpreted as causative at the syntax-semantics interface. The paper also aims to offer a syntactic analysis of Polish anticausatives in the Minimalist Program of Chomsky (2000, et seq.). The validity of three approaches to the structure of anticausatives is tested against the Polish data, including the unaccusative analysis of Schäfer (2008), the reflexive account of Koontz-Garboden (2009) and Cuervo (2014, 2015), and the predication-based approach of Den Dikken and Dekány (2019). Schäfer's (2008) analysis seems to best fit the Polish data, since Polish anticausatives are unaccusative and contain a reflexive marker, equipped with φ-features, but lacking a theta role, hence functioning as an A-expletive.

Clausal-Internal Scrambling in Urdu Language: A Derivation by Phases

Scrambling in Clausal-Internal is accounted for employing minimalist program as a theoretical framework on Urdu Naturalistic data in this study. For empirical evidence, an Urdu corpus has been accumulated in audio-recording forms from 100 competent Urdu speakers within the natural setting, taking Naturalist Inquiry as methodological purposes. Employing minimalist program on Urdu data, this study vehemently postulates that the dislocation of arguments from base to host position only hinges on the phase heads— Co and vo; hence no other external devices essentially necessitate accounting for scrambling. This study highlighted scrambling in clausal-internal specifically within Indo-Aryan Languages is Universal Phase-Based parsimony, and it is only controlled by the exiting mechanism within the phase theory. Moreover, the only merge and move operations linearize the CP in a phase-based fashion while CP is a higher phase and vP is a lower phase. No additional AGRoP necessitates scrambling, but one phase successively and cyclically converges into a higher phase level, i.e. CP and the derivation matches at LF and PF interfaces satisfying Full Interpretation (FI).

Recursive spectra of flat strongly minimal theories

We show that for a model complete strongly minimal theory whose pregeometry is flat, the recursive spectrum (SRM($T$)) is either of the form $[0,\alpha )$ for $\alpha \in \omega +2$ or $[0,n]\cup \left \{\omega \right \}$ for $n\in \omega$, or $\{\omega \}$, or contained in $\left \{0,1,2\right \}$. Combined with previous results, this leaves precisely 4 sets for which it is not yet determined whether each is the spectrum of a model complete strongly minimal theory with a flat pregeometry.

Growth, death, and resource competition in sessile organisms

Population-level scaling in ecological systems arises from individual growth and death with competitive constraints. We build on a minimal dynamical model of metabolic growth where the tension between individual growth and mortality determines population size distribution. We then separately include resource competition based on shared capture area. By varying rates of growth, death, and competitive attrition, we connect regular and random spatial patterns across sessile organisms from forests to ants, termites, and fairy circles. Then, we consider transient temporal dynamics in the context of asymmetric competition, such as canopy shading or large colony dominance, whose effects primarily weaken the smaller of two competitors. When such competition couples slow timescales of growth to fast competitive death, it generates population shocks and demographic oscillations similar to those observed in forest data. Our minimal quantitative theory unifies spatiotemporal patterns across sessile organisms through local competition mediated by the laws of metabolic growth, which in turn, are the result of long-term evolutionary dynamics.