To usher in the next round of client AI innovation, there is an urgent need to enable efficient, lossless inference of high-accuracy large language models (LLMs) and vision language models (VLMs), jointly referred to as xLMs, on client systems. To address this, we present pipelined sharding, a novel, benchmark-profile-guided CPU-GPU hybrid scheduling technique to achieve efficient, VRAM-constrained inference for both dense and mixture-of-experts (MoE) LLMs. Using a combination of model sharding at the sub-layer level, CPU offloading, pipelined copy-compute, and prioritized tensor placement in VRAM, it optimizes both time-to-first-token (TTFT) and tokens per second (TPS) metrics, while flexibly adapting to system and inference conditions. For efficient, high-accuracy VLM inference, we combine pipelined sharding with a llama$.$cpp implementation of three well-understood prior ideas (jointly called VLMOpt), namely, vision tensor CPU offloading, flash attention, and vision and language model VRAM overlap avoidance. These enhancements are targeted at improving client xLM inference in future releases of two important NVIDIA products - the In-Game Inferencing software development kit (IGI
Bernard Lyot invented the monochromatic birefringent filter in 1933 in order to investigate the coronal emissions of solar structures above the limb with the coronagraph installed at the Pic du Midi observatory. The filter was improved later and he made the first observations of the chromosphere above the solar disk in 1948, at Meudon. After his death, Grenat and Laborde continued the development in the frame of the coming International Geophysical Year (IGY 1957-1958). A modern H$α$ heliograph was completed soon and the flare patrol started in 1956. This instrument was reproduced by two companies (SECASI and OPL) and disseminated around the world in order to contribute to the IGY common effort dedicated to the solar activity survey. We describe in this short paper the capabilities of one of these copies operating at Haute Provence station from 1958 to 1994.
This paper focuses on precoding design in multi-antenna systems with improper Gaussian interference (IGI), characterized by correlated real and imaginary parts. We first study block level precoding (BLP) and symbol level precoding (SLP) assuming the receivers apply a pre-whitening filter to decorrelate and normalize the IGI. We then shift to the scenario where the base station (BS) incorporates the IGI statistics in the SLP design, which allows the receivers to employ a standard detection algorithm without pre-whitenting. Finally we address the case where the channel and statistics of the IGI are unknown, and we formulate robust BLP and SLP designs that minimize the worst case performance in such settings. Interestingly, we show that for BLP, the worst-case IGI is in fact proper, while for SLP the worst case occurs when the interference signal is maximally improper, with fully correlated real and imaginary parts. Numerical results reveal the superior performance of SLP in terms of symbol error rate (SER) and energy efficiency (EE), especially for the case where there is uncertainty in the non-circularity of the jammer.
Experiments have been conducted in the DIII-D tokamak to explore the in-situ growth of silicon-rich layers as a potential technique for real-time replenishment of surface coatings on plasma-facing components (PFCs) during steady-state long-pulse reactor operation. Silicon (Si) pellets of 1 mm diameter were injected into low- and high-confinement (L-mode and H-mode) plasma discharges with densities ranging from $3.9-7.5\times10^{19}$ m$^{-3}$ and input powers ranging from $5.5-9$ MW. The small Si pellets were delivered with the impurity granule injector (IGI) at frequencies ranging from 4-16 Hz corresponding to mass flow rates of $5-19$ mg/s ($1-4.2\times10^{20}$ Si/s) at cumulative amounts of up to 34 mg of Si per five-second discharge. Graphite samples were exposed to the scrape-off layer and private flux region plasmas through the divertor material evaluation system (DiMES) to evaluate the Si deposition on the divertor targets. The Si II emission at the sample correlates with silicon injection and suggests net surface Si-deposition in measurable amounts. Post-mortem analysis showed Si-rich coatings containing silicon oxides, of which SiO$_2$ is the dominant component. No evidence
In the realm of 3D-computer vision applications, point cloud few-shot learning plays a critical role. However, it poses an arduous challenge due to the sparsity, irregularity, and unordered nature of the data. Current methods rely on complex local geometric extraction techniques such as convolution, graph, and attention mechanisms, along with extensive data-driven pre-training tasks. These approaches contradict the fundamental goal of few-shot learning, which is to facilitate efficient learning. To address this issue, we propose GPr-Net (Geometric Prototypical Network), a lightweight and computationally efficient geometric prototypical network that captures the intrinsic topology of point clouds and achieves superior performance. Our proposed method, IGI++ (Intrinsic Geometry Interpreter++) employs vector-based hand-crafted intrinsic geometry interpreters and Laplace vectors to extract and evaluate point cloud morphology, resulting in improved representations for FSL (Few-Shot Learning). Additionally, Laplace vectors enable the extraction of valuable features from point clouds with fewer points. To tackle the distribution drift challenge in few-shot metric learning, we leverage hyp
A surprisingly simple fuel modification could help tackle one of diesel engines’ biggest problems: pollution。 Researchers reviewing studies from around the world found that mixing small amounts of water into diesel fuel can dramatically reduce harmful emissions, including nitrogen oxides and soot, while maintaining or even improving engine efficien
A major breakthrough in quantum technology has turned magnons, tiny magnetic waves once considered too short-lived for practical use, into promising carriers of quantum information。 Researchers extended their lifetime by nearly 100 times, reaching up to 18 microseconds, and discovered that the main limitation is not a law of physics but the purity
A distant galaxy nicknamed Shadow Blaster may have revealed a surprising source of cosmic neutrinos: extreme star formation instead of a supermassive black hole。 The discovery suggests that hidden, dust-filled starburst galaxies could account for a significant fraction of the Universe’s high-energy neutrinos
A strange gamma-ray glow at the center of the Milky Way has long sparked debate over whether it comes from hidden neutron stars or elusive dark matter。 By applying machine learning to more than a million simulated observations, researchers included photon energy data for the first time and reached a different conclusion than many earlier studies
Astronomers have released the largest gravitational wave catalog ever, revealing 161 new black hole collisions and pushing the total number of detections to 390。 Among the highlights are the clearest gravitational wave signal ever recorded, the most accurate location of a black hole merger, and growing evidence that some black holes are the product
Astronomers studying the rare supernova SN 2021yfj discovered material from one of the deepest layers of a dying star, providing a rare look at its hidden interior。 The finding confirms key theories about how massive stars forge the elements that help build planets, worlds, and life
Scientists are raising concerns that we may be overlooking evidence of extraterrestrial life even when it is present。 Hidden biosignatures, limitations in detection technology, and assumptions about what life should look like can all create dangerous false negatives。 The researchers say future missions should focus not only on finding life, but als
The global cobalt supply chain is more interconnected—and more vulnerable—than previously thought, with disruptions capable of triggering far-reaching cascades across multiple countries and industries。 Researchers warn that protecting battery supply chains will require system-wide coordination because critical bottlenecks can turn local shocks into
SETI scientists searched the interstellar object 3I/ATLAS for radio signals that could indicate extraterrestrial technology but found nothing beyond human-made interference。 Even so, the rapid-response observations helped confirm the object's natural origin and showcased how future interstellar visitors can be investigated for signs of intelligent
A new technique could solve one of the biggest challenges in making future computer chips from ultrathin materials。 Researchers found that coating molybdenum disulfide with oxygen or fluorine lets manufacturers remove just the top layer of atoms much more safely during plasma processing。 The result is a cleaner, more controlled path toward smaller
A new SETI study suggests we may be overlooking alien signals not because they aren't there, but because their own stars are scrambling them before they escape into space。 Turbulent plasma and powerful stellar storms can spread an ultra-narrow radio transmission across a wider range of frequencies, making it much harder for traditional searches to