Tootfinder

Two Possible Optical--X-Ray Anti-Correlations of PSR J1023 0038
Ka-Yui Au, Kwan-Lok Li, Albert K. H. Kong, Jumpei Takata, Chung-Yue Hui, Lupin C. C. Lin
https://arxiv.org/abs/2510.07763

Two Possible Optical--X-Ray Anti-Correlations of PSR J1023+0038
X-ray emission is generally believed to be one of the major heating sources for the optical modulation in redback pulsar binaries as we have seen similar phenomena in many low mass X-ray binaries (LMXBs). While, e.g., MeV/GeV gamma-rays from the neutron stars are also possible heating sources, X-ray observations are currently much more sensitive, and therefore, joint optical--X-ray data are observationally unique on the irradiation mechanism investigation. Using 18 X-ray/B-band simultaneous XMM…

Before you head out for the weekend, don't miss today's Metcurity for the crucial cybersecurity developments you should know, including
--US, Canada warn of Chinese-linked Brickstorm malware that gains long-term access,
--Intellexa had access to personal data of Predator spyware targets,
--Int'l partners release AI security guide for OT orgs,
--Phreeli cellco doesn't ask for identifying info,
--Taiwan suspends Rednote over fraud cases,
--Alb…

US, Canada warn of Chinese-linked Brickstorm malware that gains long-term access
Intellexa had access to personal data of Predator spyware targets, Int'l partners release AI security guide for OT orgs, Phreeli cellco doesn't ask for identifying info, Taiwan suspends Rednote over fraud cases, Albiriox Android malware evolves quickly, NCSC debuts proactive notifications, much more

“A right Royal visit” Queen Victoria’s visit to Northampton https://edintone.com/right-royal-visit/ 12 November 1844 was set to be a great day for Northampton. A chance to welcome Queen Vict

"A right Royal visit" Queen Victoria's visit to Northampton - Miscellanea Edintone
12 November 1844 was set to be a great day for Northampton. A chance to welcome Queen Victoria and Prince Albert. to the town. However, two tragedies would

🔊 #NowPlaying on #BBCRadio3:
#ClassicalLive
- Ravel's exquisite piano miniatures live from Wigmore Hall
Pianist Julius Asal live at Wigmore Hall, plus exclusive archive Alfred Brendel and the Beethoven piano concertos and a chance to cactch recent recordings from winners of The Leeds
Relisten now 👇
https://www.bbc.co.uk/programmes/m002p75c

Alberta is fine, ya'll
"The judge called the move to change the legislation antithetical to the rule of law and democracy."
"The public is entitled to the fruits of this process that has been conducted largely at their expense so that if they are asked to vote on Alberta independence, they have a tool that may help them make sense of the legal dimensions of the secession of Alberta from Canada."
#abpoli #canada #canpoli #law #charterofrights
#sovereignty

El penquista Álvaro Henríquez, voz y compositor de Los Tres y Pettinellis, uno de los músicos mas influyentes del rock chileno, hoy cumple 56 años. Ojalš que pronto nos regale el nuevo disco de Los Tres.
#AlvaroHenriquez #CumpleañosRockero

Multi-port programmable silicon photonics using low-loss phase change material Sb$_2$Se$_3$
Thomas W. Radford, Idris A Ajia, Latif Rozaqi, Priya Deoli, Xingzhao Yan, Mehdi Banakar, David J Thomson, Ioannis Zeimpekis, Alberto Politi, Otto L. Muskens
https://arxiv.org/abs/2511.18205 https://arxiv.org/pdf/2511.18205 https://arxiv.org/html/2511.18205
arXiv:2511.18205v1 Announce Type: new
Abstract: Reconfigurable photonic devices are rapidly emerging as a cornerstone of next generation optical technologies, with wide ranging applications in quantum simulation, neuromorphic computing, and large-scale photonic processors. A central challenge in this field is identifying an optimal platform to enable compact, efficient, and scalable reconfigurability. Optical phase-change materials (PCMs) offer a compelling solution by enabling non-volatile, reversible tuning of optical properties, compatible with a wide range of device platforms and current CMOS technologies. In particular, antimony tri-selenide ($\text{Sb}_{2}\text{Se}_{3}$) stands out for its ultra low-loss characteristics at telecommunication wavelengths and its reversible switching. In this work, we present an experimental platform capable of encoding multi-port operations onto the transmission matrix of a compact multimode interferometer architecture on standard 220~nm silicon photonics using \textit{in-silico} designed digital patterns. The multi-port devices are clad with a thin film of $\text{Sb}_{2}\text{Se}_{3}$, which can be optically addressed using direct laser writing to provide local perturbations to the refractive index. A range of multi-port geometries from 2$\times$2 up to 5$\times$5 couplers are demonstrated, achieving simultaneous control of up to 25 matrix elements with programming accuracy of 90% relative to simulated patterns. Patterned devices remain stable with consistent optical performance across the C-band wavelengths. Our work establishes a pathway towards the development of large scale PCM-based reconfigurable multi-port devices which will allow implementing matrix operations on three orders of magnitude smaller areas than interferometer meshes.
toXiv_bot_toot

Electrotech, not fossil fuels, will power the future
During a recent parliamentary committee meeting, Bloc Quebecois MP Patrick Bonin grilled Alberta Premier Danielle Smith about climate change. Her answers were evasive — although she conceded that the planet is warming. Bonin asked if she thought humans were the main factor in Earth’s recent heating. “I don't know the answer to that. I'm not a scientist,” she replied.
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Moduli of lattice-polarized K3 surfaces and boundedness of Brauer groups
Danny Bragg, Emma Brakkee, Anthony V\'arilly-Alvarado
https://arxiv.org/abs/2510.11477 https://

Moduli of lattice-polarized K3 surfaces and boundedness of Brauer groups
Inspired by constructions over the complex numbers of Dolgachev and Alexeev-Engel, we define moduli stacks $\mathcal{M}_{(L,\mathcal{A})/\mathbb{Z}}$ of lattice-polarized K3 surfaces over arbitrary bases, paying particular attention to the open locus $\mathcal{P}_{(L,\mathcal{A})/\mathbb{Z}}$ of primitive lattice polarizations. We introduce the notion of very small ample cones $\mathcal{a}$, after Alexeev and Engel's small cones, to construct smooth, separated stacks of lattice polarized K3 sur…

A quantitative performance analysis of two different interferometric alignment sensing schemes for gravitational wave detectors
Raed Diab, Alvaro Herrera, Chance Jackson, Paul Fulda
https://arxiv.org/abs/2510.09774

A quantitative performance analysis of two different interferometric alignment sensing schemes for gravitational wave detectors
Precise laser alignment in optical cavities is essential for high-precision laser interferometry. We report on a table-top optical experiment featuring two alignment sensing schemes: the conventional Wavefront Sensing (WFS) scheme which uses quadrant photodetectors (QPDs) to recover optical alignment, and the newly developed Radio Frequency Jitter Alignment Sensing (RFJAS) scheme, which uses an electro-optic beam deflector (EOBD) to apply fast angular modulation. This work evaluates the perform…